The defendants, Allied Excavation and Secura Insurance, have refused to accept any responsibility for Michael’s wrongful death, appealing the verdict. But the Michigan Court of Appeals recently affirmed the Shekoski verdict on all issues.

Michigan Lawyers Weekly covered the ruling, and weighed in with attorney Steven Gursten of Michigan Auto Law on legal issues in the case including negligent entrustment. Said Gursten:

“What’s happening is, (chameleon carriers) rack up this really bad safety record and they close shop as Company A on a Friday and then they reopen as Company B on Monday with a new name but the exact same drivers and the exact same trucks and the exact same managers, and they do it almost like a mutual fund to wipe away the bad record and start fresh. So what happens if you get a big verdict and the trucking company decides to stop doing business? You have to have that allocation of fault as to the driver and the company so you have at least some responsible party that you can pursue.”

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